Does the name change from Saul to Paul signify a transformation? Cultural and Linguistic Usage of Dual Names First-century Jews in the Diaspora commonly bore a Semitic name for synagogue life and a Greco-Roman name for public life (cf. “John, also called Mark,” Acts 12:12; “Jesus, who is called Justus,” Colossians 4:11). “Saul” (Shaʾul, “asked for”) is Hebrew; “Paulos” is a Latin cognomen meaning “small” or “humble.” Roman citizens regularly adopted the praenomen-nomen-cognomen pattern; inscriptions from Tarsus and Cilicia confirm widespread bilingual naming. Nothing in Acts implies God discarded Saul’s Hebrew identity; rather, Paul exercises his Roman citizenship (Acts 22:25–29) and therefore foregrounds his Roman name once he engages the Gentile world. Chronological Context • Damascus-road encounter: c. AD 33 (Acts 9). • Early ministry in Arabia and Damascus: Galatians 1:17. • Return to Jerusalem and Tarsus: Acts 9:26–30. • Barnabas retrieves Saul for Antioch: Acts 11:25–26. • Missionary commissioning: Acts 13:1–3. The name transition occurs after a decade of already-transformed life and ministry. Paul himself dates his conversion well before the Jerusalem Council (Galatians 2:1-10); therefore, the inward change preceded the outward label. Theological Significance of Names in Scripture Abram→Abraham, Sarai→Sarah, Jacob→Israel, Simon→Peter, each involve God explicitly assigning covenant identity. No such declaration accompanies Saul/Paul. Scripture treats the new covenant transformation as heart-based: “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17). The Damascus experience fulfilled that reality; the Acts 13:9 notice merely records Luke’s narrative pivot. Did God Rename Saul? Nowhere does the risen Christ pronounce, “You shall be called Paul.” Three separate conversion retellings (Acts 9, 22, 26) omit any renaming statement. Instead, Jesus says, “I have appeared to appoint you a servant and witness” (26:16). The commission concerns vocation, not nomenclature. Symbolic Overtones of “Paulos” While “small” or “least” can resonate with Paul’s later self-description—“I am the least of the apostles” (1 Corinthians 15:9)—the lexical meaning is incidental, not causal. Ancient writers routinely exploited the pun (cf. Chrysostom, Hom. in Acts 28). Nevertheless, Scripture never links the meaning of “Paulos” to his humility; the connection is homiletical, not historical. Missional Pivot in Acts 13 Acts 13 marks the gospel’s leap from Antioch into the wider Roman world under the Spirit’s directive (13:2). Luke’s immediate audience is Theophilus, a Gentile official (Luke 1:3). Adopting “Paul” aligns the apostle’s public persona with his Roman readership and Gentile mission strategy: “I have made myself a servant to all, to win even more of them” (1 Corinthians 9:19). Paul’s Own Testimony • Galatians 1:15-16—Paul roots his transformation in God’s revelation of His Son. • Philippians 3:7-8—He counts former status loss for Christ, never mentioning a divinely imposed name. • 1 Timothy 1:13-16—He recalls his “former blasphemer” life and God’s mercy, again absent a renaming motif. For Paul, the evidential marker of change is the resurrection of Jesus (1 Corinthians 15:3-8), not a new label. Historical Corroboration The Delphi inscription dated AD 51 naming Gallio as proconsul (cf. Acts 18:12) synchronizes Luke’s chronology and confirms Paul’s Roman milieu. Ossuaries and papyri from Roman Judea display paired Semitic-Latin names, supporting Luke’s incidental note. No archaeological, epigraphic, or patristic source records a ceremonial renaming of the apostle. Comparative Biblical Name Changes When God changes a name, Scripture records (1) divine initiative, (2) spoken formula, (3) covenant promise. Acts 13:9 lacks each element. The pattern therefore distinguishes Saul/Paul from the Abraham-Peter paradigm, cautioning against overstating the lexical swap. Pastoral and Practical Implications Believers rightly celebrate Paul’s transformed life; yet the sign of conversion is repentance and faith (Acts 26:20), not a legal name change. Over-spiritualizing the Saul/Paul distinction risks diverting attention from the real miracle—the new birth wrought by the risen Christ. The narrative invites Christians to contextualize the gospel cross-culturally, as Paul did, while maintaining identity in Christ. Summary Answer Acts 13:9 does not depict a divine renaming but records Luke’s shift from Saul’s Hebrew name to his Roman cognomen as he embarks on a predominantly Gentile ministry. The transformation of the man occurred earlier at his Damascus encounter with the risen Jesus; the change of name merely reflects strategic cultural engagement, not an additional act of grace. |
    |